NB. UPDATE: March 9th, 2020. A consumer (Kristin, see comments) has highlighted that one of the products previously noted as safe in this article no longer is. I have made contact with Nature Clean for clarification on the situation with regards to isothiazolinones, and will update as soon as I hear back.
Nature Clean is a Canadian brand of household detergents and personal care products which was founded in the 60s and is still going strong. “Nasty chemical free since 1963” they say on their site.
They’d never used isothiazolinone preservatives until a few years ago, when one of their stockists requested a preservation formulation change for a few of their products, and the brand plumped for MI, a move they now regret. The good news is they are currently investigating alternative preservatives for those products (the laundry liquids), and hope to be isothiazolinone-free later this year.
They gave us the following confirmations that almost all their products are safe — and several are preservative free.
- Laundry Liquids (all versions: fragrance free and scented) (also contain MCI)
- Foaming Hand Soaps (scented and fragrance free)
- Liquid Hand Soaps (fragrance free & scented)
- Laundry Powder
- Laundry Pacs
- Dishwashing Powder
- Dishwashing Pacs
- Glass & Window Cleaner
- Multisurface Cleaner
- Oxy Stain Remover
- Liquid Oxygen Bleach
- Odour Remover Pacs
- Pet Stain & Odour Remover
- Dishwashing Liquids – Fragrance Free (Sodium Hydroxymethylglycinate)
- Dishwashing liquids – Scented (Sodium Hydroxymethylglycinate)
- All Purpose Cleaning Lotion
- Cream Cleanser – Potassium Sorbate – food grade
- Toilet Bowl Cleaner – Sodium Benzoate – food grade
- Fruit & Veggie Wash – Potassium Sorbate – food grade
- Fruit & Veggie Spray – Potassium Sorbate – food grade
- Phenoxyethanol and
- Sodium Benzoate
We’ll keep you updated on when the brand becomes entirely isothiazolinone-free in due course. Meanwhile, just avoid the laundry liquids.
For further information about the brand, see the Nature Clean Website.
Products are available via Well Canada, Amazon Canada, Amazon US, and Grocery Gateway (Can), as well as other online outlets (search results through these links may also show MI-containing laundry products).
I cleaned my entire bathroom with the all purpose cleaning lotion only to break out horribly. I looked at the bottle and sure enough in bold under ingredients it lists methylisothiazolinone and methylcloroisothiazolineone.
The information you received must be incorrect. It is Mar 2020 and they do contain isothyazolinones.
Sorry to hear this Kristin. I’ll check in with them. That was two years ago so I’m supposing things have changed.
Funny I just called them and asked about this. Before I read this article. Asked how separate are the different products made. Wanted reassurance there is 0 trace
Thanks Sarah – I’d forgotten about this. What did they say? Best wishes – Alex.